Infinite Time
by Warashi Ame
Summary: There's a new team of Gennin's from a new village. They not only have to prove themselves but their village as well in the Chuunin exam. Can they make it?
1. Beginnings

Infinite time  
Prologue: Beginnings  
By Ame Rokugatsu

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm just messing with them. I do own the four main characters, Jinko, Kaida, Hyo, and Kotori. Their mine, all mine. Take them and I'll sick the neighbors rabid raccoon on you and laugh when it viciously bites you.

* * *

Jinko Ekai fiddled with his ponytail. His students where doing very well. They were leaving for the Chuunin Exams in Konoha in just two hours. He tossed his light brown hair over his shoulder. (1)

He was proud of his students but he couldn't help but worry. The Chuunin Exams were tough and not everyone made it out alive. But this was the only way for their village to try to make contacts in other villages. After all the Hidden Village of Time was only two years old, and the Ninja Academy had only opened this year. They didn't have much to work with. His students would be the only ones going to the Chuunin Exam from Hidden Time. Their entire village was depending on them, no pressure. (2)

Two hands descended on his shoulders. "Ack!"

"Jeez, Sensei calm down," the cheerful blue eyed blonde chirped.

"Kotori, don't sneak up on people like that," an amber eyed redhead chided. "You could have given Jinko- Sensei a heart attack and then who would pay for our trip?"

Jinko shot her a dirty look. A black haired green eyed male lightly smacked the redhead upside the head. "Kaida, behave."

A passerby looked on and walked away muttering. "These are the hope of the future for Hidden Time? We're doomed."

Kotori the youngest and therefore the most childish stuck her tongue out at the passerby's back. Hyo smiled indulgently and Kaida stifled her giggles.

Ah, yes. These, these were his students. The browned eyed teacher couldn't help but smile. Hyo Koi, dark of hair, bright of eye, oldest of the group at sixteen. He was even tempered but fiercely protective of his teammates. (3)

The second oldest was the redheaded Kaida Haku. The amber eyed female was fifteen and usually described as quietly insane. By those who knew her, she was described as mellow with a twisted sense of humor. (4)

And then there was Kotori. Little Kotori Yuki the bright eyed, happy, playful, laughter of the team and the youngest at twelve. A sweet blonde blue eyed thing. (5) Despite the differences in age and personality the team balanced itself out.

Kaida titled her head to one side and smiled. "Don't worry so much Jinko-nii. We'll do fine." She always seemed to know what was bothering him as though he really was her brother. Then again she usually could peg down anyone's problems.

Jinko sighed and smiled. "I'm your teacher not your brother." He stood up and brushed off his pants. "Well, let's go. Time waits for no one."

Hyo smiled and headed towards the gates and Kaida followed him. Kotori cheered and danced her way to the gates. Jinko smiled indulgently and brought up the rear. They were good and stood a good chance of making it through the Chuunin Exam. He had faith in his students as did the rest of the village. But the question in everyone's mind was would they make it?

* * *

(1) Jinko Ekai- Ocean of Wisdom

(2) Hidden Time- An original village made by me

(3) Hyo Koi- Dark Leopard

(4) Kaida Haku- White Dragon

(5) Kotori Yuki- Little Snow Bird

Hi Ame here. This would be my third story ever. This one is going to be a short story unlike my other two. Originally it was going to be a one shot but then as I finished up this section I realized that it would be a very long one shot. So I decided to be nice and break it up into chapters. I would appreciate reviews and helpful criticism. Be for warned, flames make me a pissy bitch.

M'kay, small little profiles of the characters.

Name: Jinko Ekai  
Age: 27  
Sex: Male  
Looks: Light brown hair in a ponytail, brown eyes

Name: Hyo Koi  
Age: 16  
Sex: Male  
Looks: Short black hair, green eyes

Name: Kaida Haku  
Age: 15  
Sex: Female  
Looks: Long red hair with three braids looped on the left held in place by two hair stick, amber eyes

Name: Kotori Yuki  
Age: 12  
Sex: Female  
Looks: Just below the shoulders blonde hair, bright blue eyes


	2. Arrival

Infinite Time  
Chapter One: Arrival  
By Ame Rokugatsu

Disclaimer: I don't own it and wishing on the freaking star for the past three years hasn't changed that.

* * *

The guards at Hidden Leaf gate stiffened. There were four strangers approaching the gate, two males and two females. The tallest one looked the oldest. He had light brown hair pulled into a ponytail and was wearing a long sleeved red shirt, black pants, the traditional blue sandals, and had a dark green hitae-ate tied above his left knee. At this distance they could not make out the symbol on it.

In the front of the group was a tiny little blonde who was bouncing around happily. Or was it hyperly? The guard on the left tightened his grip on his sword as the young blonde reminded him of his own village's hated blond demon.

The little blonde girl was wearing black Capris, a light violet Chinese styled top, and the sandals. Her hitae-ate was also dark green and tied around her upper right arm. She did a little twirling spin, promptly lost all sense of balance and tripped over her feet. Soft ringing laughter reached their ears as the other female helped her up.

This female was older by at least two years and a redhead. Her hair was styled into three braided loops. She was wearing a medium green haori with no sleeves tied with a black sash, black pants, and sandals. Her hitae-ate was also a dark green, but was tied around her neck.

And finally the fourth stranger, who was bringing up the rear was also male. He was tall, but in a way that suggested he wasn't done growing. He was perhaps a bit older than the redhead, but not by much. He wore a blue tank top, blue arm bracers, black pants, and sandals. His hitae-ate too, was a dark green, tied around his forehead, barely keeping dark locks out of his eyes.

They drew closer and finally reached the massive Konoha gate. The guard on the right stepped forward eyeing the symbol on their hitae-ate's. _'Infinity?'_  
The older male stepped forward with a relaxed smile. "We're here for the Chuunin Exam," he dug through his bag. "Here are our papers."

The guard looked at the papers. Everything was in order and official. "The Chuunin Exam starts tomorrow. You need to see the Hokage first," he stepped back and let the strangers pass through, eyeing them warily.

The left guard looked at his partner quizzically. "So, where are they from? I didn't recognize their village symbol."

The right guard shifted uncomfortably. "They're from Hidden Time, and yes the paper work is official and not foraged."

"I've never heard of a Hidden Time."

"Neither have I."

Tsunade looked up at the knock on the door. "Come in."

The Hidden Time group entered. Their sensei stepped forward. "We come from the Village of Hidden Time. My students are here to take the Chuunin Exam. Our names are Jinko Ekai, Hyo Koi, Kaida Haku, and Kotori Yuki," Jinko handed the Hokage their paperwork.

"Hidden Time, eh? The new village that split off from Hidden Tree right?"

"That's correct."

"What can you tell me about your village?"

"Not much. We have yet to decide who our official representative is and as such, we are not permitted to give much information. What we can tell you is that our village is two years old, wants to have peace treaties with the other villages, and we are located on the boarder between the mountain and the desert, as your map should show you."

Tsunade sighed, disappointed that there was no new information on this new village. Not even an idea of what their village specialized in. "Well, your papers seem to be in order. The Chuunin Exam starts tomorrow at eight o' clock sharp at the Hokage monument. We have a two room apartment you may borrow for the duration of the exam. I wish you the best of luck in proving yourselves."

The group from Hidden Time bowed respectfully and left to find their apartment. Several wrong turns and interesting mishaps later, they made it to their apartment. Jinko sighed in annoyance, "Forty-five minutes to find a building that's a fifteen minute walk from the Hokage's office. What's wrong with this picture?"

"We're hopeless idiots who can't find their way out of a wet paper bag with a flashlight and a map?" Kotori offered cheerfully.

Hyo snorted.

"Well, we didn't do too badly for us," Kaida said soothingly. "Besides we couldn't have known about the Saturday market discount."

"No, but we could have avoided the incident with the chickens."

Kaida smiled innocently.

Hyo shook his head in bemusement. "Alright we have two bedrooms. I guess that means Jinko-sensei will share a room with me and you and Kotori will share. Um, let's see. Kaida, you're the only one here who can cook so if you would buy food that would be great-"

Jinko decided to take over before his student tried to make him do something degrading, like finding out about the other teams by going out undercover as a woman at a bar or restaurant. That was not a pleasant memory and that would be the last time he played poker with Hyo. "Hyo, you and Kotori clean the house and put your stuff away. I have something I need to do."

"Okay!" Kotori chirped cheerfully. "I'll put your stuff away too, nee-san!"

Hyo grumbled but nodded and went in search of cleaning supplies.

Kaida smiled gently and patted her on the head, "Thank you imoto-chan. Behave and _help_ Hyo and I might get you a treat." Kotori squealed gleefully and hoped off to help Hyo-nii.

Jinko pulled Kaida aside once they were out the door. "Kaida, don't get her any sugar."

Kaida smiled calmly at her sensei. "Now would I actually do something like that?"

"Yes, you spawn of Satan."

Kaida smirked and walked off.

After a large dinner and a brief work out in which it took Jinko, Hyo, and Kaida the better part of an hour to pry Kotori off the ceiling, they retired for the night. Hyo and Jinko in one room on separate beds, and Kaida and Kotori in the other. Kaida shifted in sleepy surprise when Kotori slipped into her bed. "Can I stay with you tonight nee-san? I'll leave if you want, it's just that my mother used to let me sleep with her when we were in a new place and-"

"It's fine Kotori. Go to sleep imoto-chan. We have a big day ahead of us, ne?"

The next morning Jinko woke up to a loud crash. He was startled, rolled off the bed, and landed with a painful thump. He looked up; Hyo apparently had gotten up before him as he was no longer in the room. He got up off the floor to investigate the mysterious crash, though he had a fairly good idea of what it was. He opened the door and was nearly trampled by Kotori's mad dash to the bathroom in the morning chaos of getting ready for the exam. He looked in the kitchen. It was just as he thought. Kaida had thrown the frying pan at the wall in frustration. Hyo was looking zombie like as he drank what was likely his third cup of coffee.

Jinko blinked in bemusement. "It's six forty-five; the exam doesn't start until eight. The monument where you are supposed to meet only towers over the entire village. There is no possible way for you to miss it."

Hyo, looking more awake and less like the undead, gave him a half smile. "We want to scout out the competition first and look around down town."

Jinko nodded sagely, "Ah."

Kotori flipped herself over his head as he was taking up the entirety of the kitchen door. Her mouth opened and she neatly caught the toast Kaida threw at her. She tucked into a ball and rolled to her feet. She chewed and swallowed. "Thanks nee-san."

"Sleep well?" Hyo asked his little sister figure.

She nodded cheerfully.

Kaida downed the rest of her tea and stood up. "Finish up Kotori, we're leaving soon."

At the Hokage monument, Kaida poked Hyo with her foot. He looked up at her from his tree branch, absently he wondered about Kaida and her obsession with heights. "What?"

"How many teams are participating in the exam and where are they from?"

Kotori from the lowest branch looked up at her two teammates, curious for the answer.

Hyo tilted his head to the side and bit his lip as he thought. "There are five teams from Leaf-"

"Well it is the home team so that makes sense," Kotori pondered.

"Shut up brat if you want me to continue," Hyo snapped a little annoyed. Kotori stuck her tongue out at him and then smiled cheerfully. She knew he didn't mean it, he was just stressing over the exam.

"Let's see, there are three teams from Rain, two from Mist, one from Sand, and us."

"Hm, not too bad. That would be thirty-six people right?" Kaida asked.

"Wow, you can do math," a sarcastic voice cut in.

The group in the tree tensed. The voice had come from a violet haired female from Rain. A blue haired and black haired boy stood on either side of her, slight behind her. The blue haired boy spoke up. "Mana, don't. We have ten minutes until the exam starts. I don't want to be sent home before it starts for you causing trouble."

She growled feral like. "Fine."

The two groups waited tensely, the atmosphere only broken by the arrival of the other ten groups. A puff of smoke announced the arrival of the examiner. The students looked on curiously as the smoke cleared. It revealed a tall, dark brunet male. He smiled cheerfully, blue eyes sparkling. "My name is Suoh and I will be your examiner for this first test." His cheerful smile never wavered as he handed out a scroll to every team. "Okay, your first test is a scavenger hunt!"

All team members had the some thought, _'Scavenger hunt? What the hell?'_

"You have five hours to get these thirty items and you may only go to the down town market place and no other," Suoh practically sparkled. "If you can't get all thirty items don't bother coming back as you will fail immediately."

A female from Leaf piped up. "But we can't afford to pay for all these things!"

"I never said anything about paying for it," he smiled cheerfully. "This is to test your stealth skills."

"In other words we're supposed to steal?" a male from Mist asked skeptically.

Another female from Leaf looked horrified. "Do you know what happens to thieves if they get caught?"

He smiled sadistically. "Yes."

The teams all shuddered.

He smiled perkily again. "Time starts now!"

All the teams except for the group from Time immediately took off for the market.

Hyo opened their list. Kotori and Kaida looked over his shoulder.

Kaida blinked mystified. "How the hell are we supposed to steal a cow?"

* * *

Okay to clear up any questions you might have about the characters. Kotori calls Kaida nee-san, which means big sister, and Hyo, Hyo-nii or nii-san, which means big brother or big brother Hyo. However she is not related to any of them but sees them as family. Kaida does call Kotori imoto-chan, which is little sister, even though they aren't related. If you're still confused I can simplify it into one sentence. None of my characters are related to each other.

A special thanks goes to Sailor Fortune, the author of Constricting Loyalities. She inspired the first two tests as well as the symbol on the hitae-ate. But everything else is mine.  
Ame

**Sakurazuka-chan**  
Thanks for the review. I don't like to put too much detail into the prologue. Anyways I was planning on putting more about Hidden Time in this chapter anyways. I hope all of your questions you might have had were answered.

**BlackWindKaze**  
Thanks for reviewing. But next time please leave a review, emailing me is fine but still…


	3. Stealth

Infinite Time  
Chapter Two: Stealth  
By Ame Rokugatsu

Disclaimer: I don't own it! Why can't you people understand that! Sobs Leave me alone! Runs away

* * *

Hyo looked at their list. "Alright," he began. "The first item we need to get is a ceramic bowl. Any ideas how to get one?"

"Restaurant?" Kaida suggested.

"That's a good idea," he agreed. "But I don't think they're going to make the test that easy. The idea is to cut down the numbers in the first two tests before battling it out in the third."

Kotori blinked up at them. "This test shouldn't be too hard, pretty easy actually."

"So says the ex thief," Hyo smirked.

Kotori stuck her tongue out at him. "Anyways I know how to get the first one. Nee-san, go into a restaurant, preferably one that's not too crowded, and distract the owner. I'll sneak in the back and snag the bowl, and pass it off to Hyo if need be." She blinked as another thought came to her. "Um, nee-san? You do have _that_ powder don't you?"

Kaida made a face but nodded. Hyo growled and muttered something that could have been interpreted as rude under his breath.

"Alright let's find a restaurant."

After fifteen minutes of seemingly aimless wandering they found their target, Ichiraku Ramen. Best of all it was empty. With a nod to each other they split to do their parts. Kaida walked inside, stopped, and blinked. Instead of the usual owner there was a Chuunin behind the counter.

The Chunnin smirked at her. "What? You thought we would make this easy?"

Kaida slapped a hand over her mouth in dismay. She blushed slightly in confusion. She blinked once and got over it. She straightened her posture and walked towards the Chuunin. She smiled brightly at him, and then attempted to punch him out.

It didn't work. The Chuunin caught her fist. She tried to hit him with the other fist. That didn't work either. He smirked at her.

He laughed. "Silly little girl. You should just give up already. You'll never make it through the Chuunin Exams!"

Kaida smirked at him; he had fallen for her trap. "That's what _you_ think." Abruptly she leaned forward and kissed him. The Chunnin's eyes widened in surprise then fell shut. His grip on her loosened. Kaida stepped back. The Chuunin hit the counter face first out cold.

Kaida shook her head, grabbed a napkin, and walked out to meet her teammates. Hyo stared at her as she furiously scrubbed at her mouth. Kotori tossed the bowl from hand to hand. "You kissed him," he finally said.

Kaida looked disgusted. "I didn't want to, but like I told you, that powder only works administered from mouth to mouth. No expects you to kiss a total stranger and he would have attacked me if I tried to blow it in his face." She shuddered. "Ugh, he wasn't even that cute."

Hyo growled and started to fiddle with a kunai, shooting glances at the Ichiraku Ramen. Kotori decided that she'd better do something before Hyo did something stupid, like shaving off the Chuunin's eyebrows if he didn't outright kill him.

"Ne, Hyo-nii? What else do we need to get?"

Hyo sighed in disappointment. Revenge would have to wait until later. He motioned to a roof top and jumped on to it. A quick bounce and Kaida and Kotori were up there with him. They sat down to talk so people on the street couldn't see them and would be less suspicious. He opened the scroll as his teammates gathered around.

Even Kotori with all her experiences with stealing looked surprised at the next item on the list. "They want us to get a carton of eggs with out breaking any!"

They were now on their fifteenth item; they had decided to leave the cow for last. Which was probably a good idea seeing as cows were slow, loud, stupid, and hard to hide.

Hyo spoke up. "Okay what's our plan for this one?" He wasn't stupid and perfectly capable of coming up with a plan of his own. However he knew that team work was a good thing and they might have better ideas. Besides if they could all agree with a plan it was by far more likely to succeed.

As of yet Kotori had the best ideas for this test which was perfectly understandable. For all that she was the youngest; she had been raised as a thief by her mother who was also a thief. And so far it had been working in their favor.

Kaida blinked and smiled slowly. "I have a plan. Our next item is the _limited _edition purple monkey plushie right? This one is probably to see what we'll do facing a shortage, be it stealing from someone who bought one, stealing from the store, or just plain giving up."

"Good point," Hyo agreed. "But that still doesn't tell us what your plan is. Most of, if not all, of the plushies are probably gone by now."

Kaida giggled mischievously. "Kotori is a very cute little girl."

Hyo blinked, his eyes widened as he caught the idea, he smirked. Kotori bounced on her toes giggling evilly.

Kotori wandered into the store wide eyed and shy like. She had styled her hair into pigtails so she looked about nine, to complete the look she had left her hitae-ate with Hyo and Kaida.

Her blue eyes flickered from side to side as she nervously nibbled on her lip. A store employee wandered over and crouched down so he could talk to her eye to eye. A flicker of movement to the left reviled one of the Chuunin's observing this test.

"Hi sweetie," the employee said to her. "Is there something you need help with?" He couldn't help but think _'What a sweet little thing. I hope she has someone to watch out for her or she'll be eaten alive. Heh, she'll probably grow to be a real heartbreaker one day.'_

Kotori looked up at him shyly from under her lashes. She bit her lip and then in a very soft voice asked, "Do you have any purple monkey plushies?"

Immeditely the employee's, Suzaku, mood soured. Not only were the monkey plushies rare and in high demand from customers, but they were being stolen left and right today. "Why," he asked bluntly.

Kotori's eyes started to water and her lower lip trembled. Suzaku winced, maybe he was a little too rough with her. After all she was just a little kid, and a very sweet and shy one from what he had observed.

Her voice wavered as she spoke quietly, "It's my birthday, and mommy gave me some money," a sniff, eyes tearing up, ready to spill over. "She's very busy so she told me to get myself," a soft little hiccupping sob, "a present." Kotori started to back away from Suzaku crying like a scared little girl. She let her knees quiver and then dropped to the floor in wracking, plaintive sobs drawing attention from the other customers.

Suzaku looked harried as he tried to calm her down. The mutterings of the annoyed and swiftly turning angry (with him) customers were making him nervous. "H-hey! Sorry sweetie, I'm just having a bad day. Please don't cry. I think we have _one_ more monkey plushie in the back, let me go check okay?"

Much to his relief the little girl stopped crying; she was still hiccupping, but no longer crying, the customers were also backing away. She looked up at him from under shy lashes, nervous that he might be mean again, or lying to her. Suzaku smiled reassuringly. "I'll be right back."

'_Well, so far everything's going to plan. The sweet little girl act gets them every time.'_ Kotori thought with a mental smirk, waiting for the gullible employee to return. The little girl act was one of her personal favorites. It got her free food and toys when she had lived on the streets pick pocketing. Now that she was living Jinko-sensei-nii she used it to get free ice cream.

'_Ah! There he is!'_

Suzaku smiled and handed her the plushie. Kotori rewarded him with a shy, soft smile, eyes lighting up. "Thank you," she said sweetly looking all in all absolutely charming. She reached for her money pouch.

"Keep your money," Suzaku smiled at her thinking _'How adorable.'_ "It's my birthday present to you."

Kotori smiled brightly at him. "Thanks!" She giggled sweetly and skipped out the door to find her teammates.

Suzaku smiled, glad he had made such a sweet little thing's day. Now that she had gotten the very _last_ one he didn't have to worry about them getting stolen. It was too bad he didn't make a profit on it, but hey, at least the other customers wouldn't beat him with heavy, blunt, objects.

The Chuunin, who had observed the interaction, stared out the door Kotori had gone through in awe. _'Damn she's good.'_

Kotori smiled up at her teammates and held up a hand in victory, the monkey plushie in it.

Kaida looked at it. "That thing's hideous. No wonder they're limited edition. No one sane would buy one!"

Kotori smiled innocently. "Collectors?" She suggested.

"They don't count as sane."

Hyo smiled in bemusement. "Didn't Tsunade-sama have one on her desk?"

The next item, the twenty-fifth, was a black mirror.

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard to get," Kotori said optimistically.

"It's harder than you think," Kaida replied dryly.

"What so hard about that," Hyo asked. "Just find a hand mirror with a black handle, problem solved."

Kaida snickered in a way that practically screamed 'I know something you don't, but I'm not sharing so there!'

"Isn't it," he asked.

Kaida started laughing.

Hyo and Kotori looked at each other in confusion. Well, Kaida was known to not be exactly sane. But still…

Kaida snickered. "Don't worry about it. We already have one." She chuckled heartlessly. "I can't wait to see what the other teams will bring. So skip that, what's the next item?"

They had gotten all but two items on their list, they had fifteen minutes to get from down town to the Hokage monument before time was up and they were disqualified for not being there. Between the three of them they managed to make a pretty kick-ass (and realistic) illusion as they carried all of their items to the Hokage mountain, cow included. It wasn't as if they could walk around in plain sight with all of their stolen goods. If they weren't careful, they'd be as inconspicuous as an elephant trying to sneak through a minefield. The punishment for thieves who were caught wasn't pretty.

Kaida and Kotori had worried about not having the last two items until Hyo told them that it was a mind game. As long as they had twenty-five items they would pass the test. The idea was to cut down the number of Gennins who would pass. So that meant the test givers would try to get them to quit. A ninja had to be strong in mind as well as body.

Kaida and Hyo looked on curiously as Kotori performed a set of hand seals they had never seen as she walked around their items stopping only once to touch both Hyo and Kaida. The other teams were approaching the monument. Her hand seals looked nothing like an attack so hopefully she wasn't planning on sending the other teams sky high with a large explosion. As amusing as it would be, they would be disqualified for attacking other teams during this test.

The other teams, that hadn't quit or gotten caught, reached the top and not a moment to soon. With a large sparkly puff of smoke Suoh returned. He flashed them a bright happy smile. "Congratulations, those who made it back-"(1)

A team showed up out of nowhere just at that very moment.

Suoh looked at the panting team. "You're late. You fail. Go home."

The team whined about it but Suoh remained firm. "You had _exactly_ five hours and you're a minute and thirty seconds over that time. You failed."

Turning back to the other teams he continued. "Now that you're here we," he gestured to the Chuunin's who had observed the test, "will take you one group at a time to see if you passed this test. As of yet there are nine teams and there may be less once we're done."

Suoh and each of the three Chuunin's grabbed a group and walked a ways a way to go over their items. This way the nosy Gennin's wouldn't be able to over hear certain things that would be surprises for the test. The waiting teams mingled with the others from their home villages. This meant Hyo, Kaida, Kotori, and the team from sand did not move an inch, with the exception of a team from Mist.

The team from Mist had scurried away and were talking urgently amongst themselves. It was rather suspicious as they were talking in low, urgent whispers, shooting glances over their shoulders at the other teams.

The remaining teams looked at the other team from Mist for an explanation. The female of the team, Meiri, sighed. "Don't ask. Just don't."

Her teammate Ryuchi nodded in agreement. "Those three have always been a little odd. Unfortunately, as the Chuunin Exam drew closer, they've just gotten weirder. There is no logical explanation."

The last member of the team, Sachi, looked at his fellow gennin of the Mist. "I can't help but wonder what Senchi, Kuro, and Kairi are plotting though."

Hyo blinked, sighed, and shrugged it off. It wasn't any of his business. He leaned back against one of the more comfy items and closed his eyes. This could take awhile, so he was going to take a nap.

Apparently Kaida and Kotori also thought this was a good idea. Kaida stretched and curled up against Hyo. She had tucked herself slightly under his arm so she was pressed up against his side, her head pillowed between his neck and shoulder.

Kotori decided to sprawl out on the grass but used one of Hyo's out stretched legs as a pillow. Yes, it was a perfectly good time for a nap.

The team from mist who had separated themselves were worried. They had barely cleared the approval to even come to the Chuunin Exam. They had almost past this test, but not quite. They too, like Hyo, had figured out that they needed twenty-five of the thirty items to pass the test. Unfortunately, they only had twenty-four. They needed one more to pass. So they plotted.

Why not steal something from one of the other teams? They would pass and so would the other teams, just not with full marks.

They looked around. The other teams were now minding their own business and no longer paying attention to them. Ah! The perfect target! A team of sleeping Gennins!

They crept closer. They would take the carton of eggs. No one would be none the wiser until they had to go off with Suoh or one of the Chunnins.

They crept closer. They looked around quickly. Suoh and the Chuunins looked like they would be done soon. Time to move. As quick as lightning they darted forward to take the eggs.

A loud scream caught everyone's attention. Hyo and Kaida jerked awake and looked over their shoulders. Suoh and the Chuunin's came running, the teams they had finished with not far behind. Kotori opened an eye sleepily and smirked. Yup, she hadn't lost her touch. She rolled onto her side and hugged Hyo's leg to her. Now, to finish that lovely nap.

The team from Mist were in pain. They grabbed the carton of eggs only to be electrocuted by quite a few volts of electricity and hit repeatedly by mini fireballs that came out of no where. Letting go of the carton they fell back on the grass, twitching, singed, and burned.

Hyo and Kaida looked at each other and shrugged. They chalked it up to one more of Kotori's odd, but obscured quirks. Ah, yes. Life in the streets does things to you even if they can't be seen.

The other teams stared in shock. The Chuunins looked wary. Suoh, frighteningly, looked amused. He edged towards the Gennins from Time. He slowly stretched an arm towards their items. He pulled it back as the items crackled with little sparks of lightning and flickered with little flames in warning.

Suoh chuckled. "Alright, you three next."

Kaida stood and stretched. Hyo tried to get up but Kotori wouldn't move. "Hey, brat! Up!" Kotori whined and clung to his leg.

"Comfy!"

Hyo glared at the blonde. Then he smirked as he got an idea. He poked Kotori in the side. She whined but didn't move. He poked her again. She twitched. And again. She batted his hand away. And a again. She got up and glared at him. "Meanie."

They gathered their things and they followed Suoh to the spot he had been at with the previous team. They sat down to go through the items. The team of crispy Mist Gennins shuffled past them, following the Chunnin that would score them.

As soon as the teams had enough distance between them to not be over heard Suoh turned to them. "A warding?" He asked interested. "I haven't seen one of those for a while and certainly not one like that."

Kaida and Hyo shrugged. They didn't have a clue.

Suoh's eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Kotori in shock. The youngest of the team did that? But as the youngest, logically, she would have the least amount of Chakra and Chakra control. That ward was almost Junnin leavel!

Kotori gave him a smile. "I don't like people taking what's mine." She did a series of quick hand signals and tapped Suoh's hand. "There, now you can touch it."

"Where did you learn that?" He asked as he sorted through their stuff marking things down on a scroll.

"My mum."(2)

Suoh looked at her but got no further information, though her teammates eyes widened in enlightenment. They nodded as though it made sense. Then they turned their attention back to the list and their items.

Suoh had to shrug it off as one more of those things he would see, but might never learn the true importance of. "So the black mirror?" He questioned.

Kaida reached into a pocket and pulled out a mirror. It fit easily in the palm of her hand in a dark, round, wooden frame. The mirror itself wasn't made of glass, but rather obsidian. Hyo and Kotori looked at her in confusion. She had told them that she had it covered but is this what she and the list meant?

Suoh smiled brightly. "So far I believe you're the only team who got that one! Very good! Oh! And you brought in a full grown, still breathing cow! Extra points!" He practically glowed and sparkled as he said that in an almost sing song voice.

The Time Gennins barely repressed a shudder. Suoh was scary!

They got through the rest of their list and items, and despite being sort two they still passed. The team from Mist, the ones who tried to steal from them, didn't pass. They didn't pass not because they tried to steal from one of the other teams, but because they were short one too many items. If they had successfully stolen the eggs from the Time team, they would have passed. That or if they had stolen from one of the other teams. If it wasn't for Kotori and her possessive nature they might have succeeded.

As it turned out all but the team from Mist had passed. Suoh smiled brightly at them. "Okay! Good job everyone! You have the rest of today and tomorrow before the next test! I suggest you use it wisely. You meet back here day after tomorrow for the next test! Good luck everyone!" With a bright, sparkly poof of smoke, Suoh disappeared.

* * *

(1) Yes, sparkly. My main character for Suoh was inspired by Keiichi from X/1999. So think uber happy, perky, bright, and sparkly. That would be Keiichi. Suoh is Keiichi with a sadistic streak. …What a frightening thought.

(2) If you steal something from someone, wouldn't you be embarrassed if someone else managed to take it from you? Besides thieves tend to be rather the possessive. They worked hard to get what ever it was and they aren't about to let it go. Now because it's in the Naruto world I think a thief would learn enough Chakra control to safe guard their belongings from other thieves!

Okay I was asked for some clarification on the teams so here it is, hopefully easy enough to understand. M is for male and F is for Female. Theunderline is for the teams that did not make it through.

TEAMS- 12  
Leaf- 5  
Rain- 3  
Mist- 2  
Sand- 1  
Time- 1

LEAF  
1) Yuzu(F), Mizu(M), Shogu(M)  
2) Ranga(F), Yohi(M), Asahi(M)  
3) Ito(F), Shinku(M), Gincho(F)  
4) Hotaru(F), Haruka(M), Michiru(F)  
5) Mushu(M), Nikko(M), Aki(M)

RAIN  
1) Mana(F), Shorei(M), Kanan(M)  
2) Kei(M), Ashura(M), Pikara(F)  
3) Yoh(M), Hao(M), Manta(M)

MIST  
1) Ryuchi(M), Meiri(F), Sachi(M)  
2) Senchi(M), Kuro(M), Kairi(F)

SAND  
1) Isumi(M), Setsuna(F), Michiko(F)

TIME  
1) Hyo(M), Kaida(F), Kotori(F)

22 Males and 14 Females, 36 people all together


	4. Munchies

**Infinite Time  
****Chapter Three:** Munchies  
**By** Ame Rokugatsu

**Disclaimer:** What the hell is wrong with you people! How many freaking times do I have to tell you I don't freaking own it! Unless I manage to get into a poker game with right people and win the rights of the show, then I never will!

**Warnings:** Some shonen-ai in this chapter. Don't like it? Deal.

* * *

Jinko looked at his students. It was breakfast and therefore a bit of a circus. Well, at least it was before they sat down to eat. The chaos was only in the rush before breakfast. 

They were like any semi-functional family. Therefore as the older brother/mentor figure he felt that it was his duty to prepare them for the second test they would be talking today. Damn, he would miss the brats.

"There is something you need to know about the second test," he finally said.

The trio looked up at their teacher curiously.

"I don't know the specifics about the test. They change them every year. However there are two constants. The second test takes a full week to get through and the third test is always battling."

"So we don't get to see you for a week?" Kotori asked sadly.

"I'm afraid so," he said dropping a hand on her head lightly.

Hyo, ever the practical one, asked. "How does a test take a week?"

"They'll probably lock you away somewhere and give you a certain objective you must achieve within that time period. The objective probably won't be an easy one. Sorry I can't tell you much more than that. I took the Chuunin and Junnin Exams at my home village and chances are they won't be the same as the ones I went through."

Kaida blinked. "Well, I guess the only thing we can do is eat a big breakfast and hope for the best."

Kotori nodded and went back to eating, her smile sad.

Hyo lightly smacked her upside the head. "Hey, brat. Don't look so down. It's only a week and you'll still have me and Kaida. It's not the end of the world."

Kotori smiled and dug back into her breakfast with a new enthusiasm.

The Time Gennins showed up ten minutes early for the next test all but two of the remaining teams were there. They stood around. One of the teams from Leaf shuffled nervously. A female Gennin from Mist was being a real bitch towards everyone in general, but she seemed to be targeting that team specifically. What was her name again?

The violet haired girl lashed out verbally. "You pathetic excuse for a Gennin! What do you mean you don't know what the next test is! It's your home town! If I find out you're lying I will make your life a living nightmare!"

"Mana," one of her teammates butt in, looking scared to do so.

"Shut up Shorei!" She screamed at the black haired boy. "Don't you dare tell me what to do! I rank you! I've been on the team for three years! You only joined last year. Mind your own business!"

Shorei gulped and backed away nervously. He slightly hid behind his other teammate, a boy with blue hair. The other teams were surprised she would treat one of her own teammates that way, though it seemed kind of silly that he was scared of her. He was taller than her by three inches, but not the tallest on the team. Unknown to the other teams he had a reason to be scared.

Most teams start out with three member and they enter the Chuunin Exam all together. As Gennins they wouldn't get anything higher than a B level mission. A level B mission really wouldn't be that dangerous so really they should have all of the team members and not two and the new one. After all a teacher would do his best to keep his students from being killed on any mission should it turn dangerous. What had happened to the original third member of the team was…disturbing to say the least. Shorei shivered.

Mana advanced on them. "Stop hiding behind Kanan! You're acting as pathetic as them!" She gestured wildly at the team from Leaf she had been tormenting. The last two teams had shown up at this point and watched with wide eyes.

Mana reached out a hand to grab Shorei, her eyes burning with fury. "I won't accept pathetic losers on _my_ team!"

Shorei flinched.

Kanan's hand snapped out. He caught Mana by the wrist. "That's enough Mana. You should remember that _I_ outrank _you_. One _my_ teammates died on a previous mission and _you_ got transferred to our team. You would do well to remember that. Now leave Shorei alone."

Mana glared at the blue haired boy. Oh he would pay for that later, especially for humiliating her in front of the other teams.

There were five more minutes before the next Examiner showed up. It would be a tense five minutes. The other teams made a mental note to stay away from the crazy bitch.

"She's mean," Kotori observed.

Mana whipped around and walked over to the Time Gennins furiously. "What was that you little brat?"

"I said you're mean. I know street scum that wouldn't treat their fellow gang members that way," Kotori said looking her straight in the eye, refusing to back down.

Mana's grey eyes burned furiously. "Watch your back little girl. The Chuunin Exam is no place for the likes of you. Why don't you go home and play with your dollies? But don't stay up too late. Little girls like you need to be to bed by seven," she hissed.

"I may be young, but I came here to win. But being as old as you are," Kotori began, knowing full well that Mana couldn't be a day older than fifteen. "Shouldn't you start getting up earlier? You know, so you have enough time to put on your anti-wrinkling cream?"

Kanan's lips twitched suspiciously as though he was trying not to laugh. Hyo and Kaida shook with silent laughter. There were a few muffled giggles and snorts of laughter from the remaining teams.

Mana's face twisted into an ugly scowl. "You're on my shit list brat. I suggest you watch your back or you might walk up one morning with a kunai in it." She raised her hand to slap Kotori.

Hyo's hand lashed out and he hit her wrist with a sharp crack. Mana shrieked in pain. She could barely feel her hand. It wasn't broken, but it hurt. A lot.

Kaida glared at her. No one, but no one hurt her imoto! "A ninja," she hissed out, "is supposed to be disciplined and rational. You are neither."

Mana glared at them. Oh she was going to have to take that team down. This could not be tolerated. The black haired boy had dared to hit her, the redheaded bitch had dared to put her down, and the little blonde bitch-brat had dared to insult her! In public no less! Oh they'd pay! They'd all pay! She was the only one here worthy of being a Chuunin and she wasn't going to let anyone stand in her way! She growled and stalked off to her team, Shorei quickly ducking out of her way.

The teams all stood on edge until their next examiner arrived in a poof of smoke. The smoke cleared away to reveal a tall blonde woman. Her green eyes stared at them with a slight glare as if to say 'how dare you waste my time.'

"Alright, listen up kiddies because I'm only saying this once. I'm your examiner for this test, my name is Rikku. You have ten minutes to get from here to there," she waved her hand in the general direction of the forest, on the other side of town. "Move! Now!"

The teams promptly shot off like deranged monkeys on crack. Some took to the streets weaving in and out of traffic and running into street vendors who would curse and throw things at them. Some tried to run along gate top surrounding the village only to have the guards push them off. And a few, including the Time Gennins, took to the roof tops with no troubles at all except for dodging the occasional laundry line.

They all made it on time and dropped to the ground panting. Rikku looked down on them from her perch on a boulder. "Now then, this is the Forest of Death."

Several teams cringed at this.

"This is where you'll be taking your next test. I'm locking you there for a week. This test is about food. Your goal is to make it through the week without dying of starvation or food poisoning." She gestured to the tower behind her. "The tower will open on the seventh day at noon and not a moment before." She paused. "Out in the real world you may not be able to buy rations, it might not be to your advantage to carry food, or you may run out. The idea is for you to learn to feed yourself from the things around you."

The Leaf Gennins looked at her horrified. "B-but Rikku-sensei—" One of them wailed.

"You Leaf Gennins have been spoiled by always having rations given to you. I think it's about high time you learned to fend for yourselves. I came up with the test and Hokage-sama agreed with me, so don't you 'Rikku-sensei' me. Go!"

The gates opened and the teams took off separating themselves from the other teams, the Leaf teams a bit behind the other ones after a last ditch effort to get Rikku to change her mind. She threatened them with failure. They took off knowing that the other teams would likely have the advantage.

Lots of countries came to Leaf for their ninja's, so Leaf had plenty of money to spend on, and spoil their teams. Some of the other villages ninjas had to rely entirely on what they could hunt and forage. They were so screwed.

Kaida took the lead for her team. She knew exactly what kind of area she was looking for. Of her teammates she really was the only one who could cook let alone know what should not be eaten. Ah! The perfect spot!

Kaida leaped off her tree branch, her teammates after her. "This is where we're going to stay for the week." She told them.

The spot she found was a small grove of trees. The trees here grew in an almost perfect circle and growing into each other, forming a low wall at about shoulder height. One of the trees was a dead one with a large hole at the base, the space under it dug out deeply. It was an abandoned den for a rather large animal and would suit their needs perfectly.

There was a berry bush growing to one side of the grove, thick with thorns, and a few edible greens as well. On several of their trees was shelf fungus. They were a bit bland but perfectly healthy to eat, as well as a few ground mushrooms at the bases. Listening carefully they could hear a stream near by. A stream meant water and fish or at least waster cress. (1)

Nearby there was a dead fall of branches which could be used to make comfy beds when covered with leaves and fire wood. Quickly directing her teammates like the leader of an army, Kaida shortly had them comfortably set up to live out the week. Then she sent them out to forage for food stuffs, for dinner. They would make a lunch of the berry bush, or at least a good portion of it. They were going to cut off several of the thorny branches to lay over the semi hollowed out tree to discourage predators and other teams that may try to take their things or place.

That night they had a dinner of roast rabbit and mushrooms. Then they went to bed to get a good rest. Being very comfortable with each other, there was only one large bed. It was large enough that they wouldn't hit each other in the night but would be close enough that they could share body warmth and not freeze in the night.

Other teams were not so lucky. The three teams left from Leaf were cold, hungry, and miserable. They didn't have their blankets, they had no idea what was safe to eat, and they had no idea where a good camping spot would be.

The team from Sand and the remaining team from Mist were doing fairly well. The team from Mist had problems in finding a good spot to stay in and didn't manage to get quite enough food before sundown, but other than that they were okay. They were a little cold and a little hungry, but generally okay. The team from Sand were fine in the shelter department but were rather hungry. As they were from the desert they had to have their rations given to them and were not as sure as to what was or wasn't edible.

The two teams for Rain, well, how to put it? One team, Kei, Ashura, and Pikara, were doing so-so. They had shelter and a dinner of fish. The problem was they only knew what meats were edible, but not the plants. In order to stay healthy one needs to have a balanced diet. So, for the night they were safe, but the rest of the week was uncertain.

The last team from Rain, Kanan, Mana, and Shorei were all on edge, mainly due to Mana. They found their shelter in a cave and they knew what could be and couldn't be eaten. What they weren't, was relaxed or happy.

Mana was furious and an angry Mana was a bad thing. Shorei was scared out of his wits by Mana and every time she got within three feet of him, he would get up and move, making sure to have one eye on her. Kanan was tense. He was waiting for Mana's impending blow up. And when it came it was as glorious as the fires of hell.

"You're pathetic!" She screamed at Shorei when Kanan went out to get water. "You barely qualify to be a ninja! You're the reason we were just barely allowed to come!" She went into a rant that mostly involved swearing at Shorei. "You're going to guard our camp all night. Do you hear me! And don't you dare ask about taking shifts!"

Shorei nodded rapidly, wishing that Kanan would get back soon. "Um, Mana?"

"WHAT!"

"It's only the first night; I don't think we need to set up a guard tonight. Tomorrow would be a good idea but I don't think tonight will be necessary-"

Mana's eyes narrowed and she slapped him across the face hard enough that he lost his balance and hit the cave wall. "Don't contradict me! Your watch starts now!" She stalked into the back of the cave to sleep.

Shorei shivered and set himself up at the entrance of the cave. He sat in such away that when Kanan came back the bruising on his face wouldn't be obvious. Shorei knew he was the weakest on the team, but he didn't want to embarrass Kanan further. It was bad enough that Kanan had to protect him from his own teammate in public. He sighed and pulled his knees into his chest, looking down.

Kanan came to the cave, looked at Shorei curiously, but walked past him and didn't say anything.

About four hours later Shorei was shivering uncontrollably with cold. He didn't make a sound, knowing full well that waking up Mana would be bad for his health. Besides he didn't want to bother Kanan. Kanan had his hands full in dealing with Mana already and he didn't want to make it worse by having Kanan semi baby-sit him. Shorei looked up at the full moon with sad eyes.

A hand fell on his shoulder. Shorei jumped and made a little squeak. Another hand covered his mouth. Shorei tensed ready to lash out in defense. He felt a warm puff of breath on his ear.

"Hush," came Kanan's voice. "You don't want to wake up Mana."

Shorei could feel his face turning red in embarrassment.

Kanan removed his hands and sat next to the shivering boy. The sixteen year old looked at him curiously. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Mana wants me to guard tonight," the fourteen year old replied, not making eye contact with his teammate.

Kanan's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "When does your shift end?"

Shorei ducked his head. "It doesn't."

Kanan scooted closer to the younger boy. He reached a hand out and cupped Shorei's chin and jaw. The boy squeaked, his head jerking up. Kanan used that to his advantage to turn Shorei's face to him. He had his suspicions, but he hoped that he was wrong.

He wasn't. On Shorei's left check was a magnificent bruise of dark blue and purple. The moonlight helped soften its appearance but the harsh sun would show just how much damage had been done.

Kanan frowned slightly. He lightly ran his fingers over the bruise causing Shorei to flinch. "You shouldn't let her hit you, you know."

Shorei tried to duck his head and mumbled something.

Kanan sighed. Thanks to Mana, Shorei had no self-esteem. Not to mention he felt like ice. Mana hadn't even given him a jacket to try to keep warm. Kanan reached out and wrapped his arms around Shorei, lifting the boy into his lap.

Shorei made a noise that sounded like a strangled whimper.

Kanan pulled him back against his chest, leaning against the cave wall. He tucked Shorei's head under his chin, wrapping his arms tightly around the young boy, trying to warm him up.

"You're too cold," Kanan said quietly. "Try to get some sleep okay?"

"But Mana," Shorei began, unconsciously snuggling into Kanan's warmth.

"If you don't get some sleep you won't be able to keep up tomorrow," Kanan cut him off. "Don't worry. I'll take the rest of the watch. I'll wake you up before Mana gets up. That way she won't be mad with you. Sleep now."

Shorei sighed quietly and curled up in the older boys arms, resting his head on Kanan's shoulder. Within minutes he dropped off, his shivers almost gone.

Kanan looked down at him with soft eyes. He dropped a light kiss on Shorei's forehead, smiling slightly as the boy twitched and pressed his face into the side of his neck. Kanan settled in to take his watch, warmer now than he had been. (2)

* * *

Review damn you! And no, Ichigo you don't count.  
_Ame_

(1) Water cress is an edible plant that grows in rivers. It's kind of like lettuce. Oh, and don't eat wild mushrooms. Chances are better than good that you'll end up poisoning yourself.

(2) Yay for shonen-ai fluff!

Name: Mana  
Age: 15  
Sex: Female  
Looks: Short, above the shoulders violet hair, grey eyes. The shortest of the team.

Name: Shorei  
Age: 14  
Sex: Male  
Looks: Short black hair, blue eyes

Name: Kanan  
Age: 16  
Sex: Male  
Looks: Just below the shoulders light blue hair, red eyes, the tallest.

TEAMS- 8  
Leaf- 3  
Rain- 2  
Mist- 1  
Sand- 1  
Time- 1

LEAF  
1) Yuzu(F), Mizu(M), Shogu(M)  
2) Ito(F), Shinku(M), Gincho(F)  
3) Mushu(M), Nikko(M), Aki(M)

RAIN  
1) Mana(F), Shorei(M), Kanan(M)  
2) Kei(M), Ashura(M), Pikara(F)

MIST  
1) Ryuchi(M), Meiri(F), Sachi(M)

SAND  
1) Isumi(M), Setsuna(F), Michiko(F)

TIME  
1) Hyo(M), Kaida(F), Kotori(F)


End file.
